PIoneer Day

For Pioneer Day we spent the day at the pool with my parents and brother and his family. We had a great time, then we went home for a bbq. My favorite tradition on the 24th is to go to my parents old neighborhood for fireworks and homemade ice cream. Its so fun to see all of the neighbors and enjoy the evening and fireworks.
Nicolas relaxing and watching the fireworks!
My brother Michael and the silly boys

We've been enjoying lots of fun pool days with our friends and family. There are some fun, new pools close by so were trying them all out. Kaden and Nicolas love the water and would live at the pool if they could!

Happy Birthday Jorge!

Jorge just celebrated his 34th birthday. He spent the day at work, then we went out with my brother and sister in law for a yummy dinner at one of Jorge's favorite restaurants, The Cracker Barrel. The waitress brought Jorge a birthday dessert and put a napkin on him then fed him! Good thing she was 70 years old, or I might of freaked out! My sis in law Jessica took some fun pictures that I'll have to get on here.

Happy Birthday Jacob!

My cute little nephew Jacob turned 3 years old. We went to their house for a fun little party, him and Nicolas had a great time together, they are total opposites so it will be fun to see them grow up together.

Rock Stars

I found Jorge and the boys pretending to be a rock band one morning, they were having fun jamming out!

Fourth of July

Shortly after getting to Utah we got to celebrate the fourth of July. It is one of my favorite holidays. I usually start the day with the Freedom Run 10k but this year I was out of commission, so it will have to wait til next year. We went to the big parade in Provo then went home for a family barbecue. Jorge had to work all day to get ready for selling Costa Vida food at the Stadium of Fire. He took Kaden with him so he could "work" and watch the Jonas Brothers. He had a great time and took lots of pictures, I just wish there was at least one of him!

The Jonas Brothers. Kaden thought it was so funny that all of the girls were screaming and crying when they came on stage.
Our attempt at taking cute cousins pictures. The boys were so excited to meet their new cousin, Cory, who was born in May.
We took Sadie to the parade and she hated every second of it!
Me and the boys enjoying the parade.

This is the beginning of our journey to our new lives. It was hard saying good bye to all of our close friends, our home, and a place we grew to love. We enjoyed our lives there and it was a sudden and somewhat unexpected and complicated move but we are trying to pick up the pieces and move on.
We love and appreciate all of the wonderful people we were able to get to know and have in our lives in California. We miss you all and appreciate the impact you had on our lives. Our time in California was such an important part of our lives. We learned so much about ourselves and each other and grew so much as a family. Moving away from all of our family and friends was one of the hardest things we've ever done but we feel like we were meant to be there for that time and now we are starting over and seeing where life takes us! This is the last good bye to California and what we will miss there, I promise!

Friends!

Nicolas and Hayden have been friends since they were babies. They were sad to say good bye to each other. Him and his parents came to help us finish packing the truck the night before we left. The boys had fun running around and playing.
Kaden got to have a sleep over at his friends house the night before we left. He had a great time and was glad he didn't have to sleep on the floor at home.

This is Kaden's last day of karate at Dragonstar. He absolutely loved going there and is missing it so much. He had advanced to a purple belt and had started sparring and learning the bow staff. He loved and respected the people there and we are hoping to find another place that is comparable. We've tried one place but after the first class he said the kids were crazy and had no respect or self control, he's such a funny kid!
Kaden learning some sweet bow staff skills!

Learning some choke holds

For about a year and a half we spent most of our mornings at California Family Fitness. It is the best gym ever and I am missing it more each day! The kids got to have a great time while we got to exercise. It was a such a nice break from the kids, Nicolas keeps saying that he's ready to go back to the gym so I can workout! (I am too!) These are pictures of the kids with their favorite people at the gym.

Saying goodbye

The day before we left California we had a little get together at the park with our friends from our ward. It was really hot but everyone came to say goodbye. The kids had popsicles and ran around having fun and the fun eventually turned into a water fight. I got emotional doing this post, it made me miss everyone so much and its hard seeing the boys with their friends for the last time. We miss you all and appreciate your friendships!

Nicolas is such a little ladies man!

Party

Last year I won a free birthday party for The Little Gym, so before the big move we had a fun, early birthday party for Nicolas. 8 of his little buddies from church came and they ran around doing gymnastics, playing games, and having fun for an hour and a half. They all had a great time and Nicolas is still talking about it and missing his friends.

Big Spoon

Nicolas' yummy yogurt creation

Kaden's yogurt creation(there is yogurt in there somewhere).
Before we left California we had to visit all of our favorite places. One of our favorites was Big Spoon. It is a really fun yogurt place where you can choose your flavor of yogurt then put all the toppings on it you want. The boys went all out on our last trip and really enjoyed it. We sure miss Big Spoon.

The Fountains

One of our favorite places to walk around was The Fountains. It is such a fun place. There is a big fountain that shoots water and plays music, a water play area for the kids, and a fun park in the middle of the shops. The kids loved walking around and finding dogs to visit with.

Park Days!

We enjoyed the last park day with our ward in California a few days before we left. The kids enjoyed running through the water and playing at the park with their friends. Kaden had a great time with his friend Laurel, they've been friends since we moved in and he is missing her!

Kaden's going away party

Kaden's sweet primary teacher had a fun swimming/going away party for him. The kids all came to her house for a couple hours of swimming and she made him a cute cake. He loved having her for a teacher and she always said how much she enjoyed having him in her class and loved how funny he was.